by Ivory Autumn
“The same goes for myself.” Croffin smirked. “I’m very glad to see your dirty face---all your dirty faces, actually.”
Ivory laughed and pulled Croffin into a hug.
“No,” Croffin gasped, “Don’t hug…me.”
Ivory slowly released Croffin. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t like hugs. Never have. They are much too suffocating. Brrr,” Croffin shivered, rubbing his paws together. “It’s so c...cold.”
“Maybe Ivory should hug you again…” Freddie ventured.
“Humph,” Croffin puffed. He scowled at the snow so heatedly that Andrew was sure his dislike of it would cause it to melt. “Times like these I should be hibernating.”
“In times like these,” Freddie mused, “we could have been like those poor souls buried under the snow. But we are awake. And I’m glad to be living.”
“I wish I could say the same,” Andrew said, his face filling with sadness. “But I’ll be leaving soon. So I guess it doesn’t matter.”
Croffin's eyes widened. “What are you talking about? Leaving where? To summon more people, perhaps? Honestly, Andrew after they hear about this massacre, I don’t think anybody will consider joining forces with you.”
Andrew shook his head, and pointed to the Fractured Mountains. “No. I know it’s too late for that. It is I who must go now.” I’m going to find him. The Fallen. And I’m going to do what I set out to do.”
Croffin’s face fell. “What? I think I heard you wrong. Did you just say what I thought you said? Because if you did, you’re crazy, absolutely insane.”
Andrew stared at the Fractured Mountains, his eyes distant, and his face subdued. “I am going, Croffin. As for the rest of you, you can stay here if you like. Talic could be The Fallen’s prisoner for all we know. I am going to find him.”
“Talic is dead!” Croffin let out a miserable howl. “I saw his frozen body.”
“No!” Andrew shouted. “He’s not dead!”
“Yes he is!" Croffin shouted back. “And if we go we will be just as dead. So go. Be an idiot if you wish. Go trot off and face your enemy with a sword that has no more power to kill your opponent, than a needle does against a lion. But does any one listen to me? No. Nobody has listened to my opinion since, well I don’t know when.”
“Oh, we listen to you, Croffin,” Freddie interjected. “We don’t have much a choice in that department, anyway.”
Croffin paced back and forth in front of Andrew, scraping the ice and snow with his claws. “Listening and hearing are two different things. If you all had any sense you’d know that what I say is true. To go where Andrew is pointing will just mean inevitable death, and perhaps capture, or torture in the most horrible ways. There is no good ending now.”
“I know,” Andrew said. “That’s why I’m going by myself.”
Croffin cocked his head, and straightened his eye patch, cleaning underneath the places where the fur had been flattened. “That’s the first sane thing you’ve ever said, Andrew.”
“Croffin!” Freddie retorted. “You may not be going, but I’m going with him.”
Ivory stepped beside Andrew. “And so am I.”
“B...but, that’s madness!” Croffin sputtered. “Totally and utterly pointless. Andrew has no army now. Nothing he does will stop this spread of darkness. It’s over. The Summoning was a failure. Look at the mounds of dead. You don’t want to add to the numbers already. It’s a waste of life.”
“None of you have to come with me,” Andrew insisted, his voice firm. “In fact, it probably would be better if you all stay. This is something I have to finish.”
“But you’ll die,” Croffin shouted, his voice crazed. “We’ll all die. Couldn’t we just run away into the mountains or something---hide, wait until all this has blown over?”
Andrew gazed ahead, his eyes filled with sadness. He looked taller, and somehow older, as if grief had aged him by several years. “We can’t hide from what’s coming. No one can hide from the darkness. It will be everywhere.”
“I’ll just tuck my head under the covers. That’s what!” Croffin spat, “Then go. Be that way. We will go somewhere else, and best wishes to you. Come, Ivory, Freddie?”
But neither Ivory nor Freddie made a move to follow Croffin.
“What?” Croffin cried, “You’re going with him?”
“Yes,” they both answered.
Croffin’s jaw fell.
“Alright, then. Goodbye Croffin,” Andrew said, turning away.
“Good riddance!” Croffin called after them as they walked across the ice. “I never needed you in the first place!” He watched them depart for a moment. Then his forsaken situation dawned upon him. “Wait! No, don’t leave me here. Fine, I’ll come with you. But I’m not going to die with you, if that’s what you want.” He ran after them, panting and out of breath when he reached them.
Freddie raised his brows, and smirked. “Changed your mind?”
“No,” Croffin puffed. “I just don’t want to be alone. It does nothing to these nerves of mine. There was a time when I could be alone, but now I just can’t stand the thought of being by myself.”
“You’d miss us?” Freddie questioned. “How sweet of you.”
Croffin laughed. “No. I wouldn’t miss you!”
“Oh, you wouldn’t?”
“No…er…well, only a little.”
“Wow, Andrew, did you hear that? Croffin would miss us.”
“Yeah,” Andrew said, smiling just a little. “I heard.”
“Don’t flatter yourselves,” Croffin growled. “I’d only miss you like I might miss a burr in my fur. After a while you get used to it, and if gets chopped out, it makes me feel…I don’t know, different. And not in a good way.”
“Wow,” Freddie smiled. “It’s so nice to be thought of as a prickly burr. I didn’t know we meant so much to you.”
Croffin sniffed. “Well…er…I’m glad you understand what I mean now.”
Freddie rubbed his hands together, trying to keep them warm. “I guess so.”
Croffin soon fell behind the rest, muttering and complaining for hours.
Andrew stopped and waited for the coon to catch up.
“Croffin,” Andrew said, staring down at the Coon. “If you are coming with us, you need to keep up.”
“I’m trying!” Croffin snapped. “This snow isn’t helping things. I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry anyway---unless you’re in a hurry to die. In a hurry to go towards our own demise, where there is no bread, only shadows, and people who want to kill us. What a delight. I can’t wait until we get there. The sooner we are closer to death’s door the better.”
Andrew rolled his eyes. “It’s your sarcasm that’s killing me.”
“Really? Good. I’m glad. I’m sorry. Really I am. But seriously. We’ve just come from a dreadful massacre. I tend to be a teensy bit out of sorts when I’ve just seen hundreds of bodies all laid out, and many of them close friends. But don’t worry I should soon get over it, just as you have.”
Andrew stopped, anger and grief flooding over him. “Over it? No one will ever get over what has happened!” He clenched his fists, and marched ahead, not looking at anyone.
Croffin caught the hurt in Andrew’s voice, and instantly stopped complaining.
On they went, trudging against the wind and through drifting snow, over the ice until they reached the other side of the frozen ocean. They stood on the edge of the bank, staring at the Fractured Mountains. The mountains towered above them, tall, black, and frightening. Their jagged outlines framed the sky.
Through these mountains was a wide road that spread out before them like a filthy carpet covered in dirty snow, stained with blood and dark footprints. Far into the distance they could see the Shadelock castle glowing through the murky clouds like a star on the horizon. The sun was beginning to set. The snow had not stopped falling the entire day. Wind began to blow, sending hard bits of ice into their skin and faces.
&nbs
p; Croffin sat in the snow, hugging his shivering body. “I’m n...not m...moving another inch. I’m tired, and my stomach’s been empty for quite some time. No matter how hard I want to believe it’s going to be full, IT HASN’T HAPPENED!”
“Let’s stop, Andrew,” Freddie murmured, sitting on a rock with his back to the wind. “Croffin is right. If we don’t stop and rest, we won’t make it much farther.”
Andrew sighed, and nodded. His face was red from the cold. His lips were cracked and bleeding. But he felt none of it. Only the icy prick of guilt that would not go away.
They trudged a little further, and sat near an outcropping of rocks that offered them a small amount of shelter from the wind and snow. A small, ragged tree stuck up from the uneven, rocky, ground like a twisted flag that had undergone centuries of wars. Its branches were covered in snow and layers of hard ice. Andrew looked at the tree, and wondered how it had been able to grow in such a place. It looked so alone, so lost in such a dreary spot.
They rested their backs against the cold rocks. Freddie handed everyone a small bit of bread from his pack.
“That’s it?” Croffin growled. “Can’t we have a bit more than that? A flea couldn’t live on that much.”
“We have to make it last,” Freddie murmured. “Besides, you got just as much as the rest of us. Why are you complaining?”
“I’m not. All I’m saying is this crust isn’t going to fill the empty spaces in my stomach.”
“Croffin, why can’t you just be a man, and stop whining.”
“I’m not a man and never will be” Croffin glared at Freddie in contempt. “Humans are too full of vices and hostility for me to ever want to be one.”
“Yes,” Freddie murmured, his voice going quiet. “And some creatures too.”
Andrew stepped up to the solitary, twisted tree, standing amid rocks, and inspected its branches. “You know, guys, I do believe this tree is an apple tree.”
Ivory looked skeptical. “How can you tell?”
Andrew shook some of the snow from the branches, inspecting it with careful eyes “It just looks like one.”
“Did it talk to you, Andrew?” Croffin jibed. “Did it tell you?”
Andrew glared at Croffin and shook his head. “No. It didn’t tell me.”
“Humph,” Croffin grumbled. “Well if it is an apple tree, too bad it’s winter time, or perhaps we could have some apples.”
Andrew looked at Croffin and smiled. “What an interesting idea.”
“Why thank you. What idea?”
Andrew ignored Croffin’s question and walked around the tree. “How would you guys like some apples?”
Ivory placed a hand on Andrew’s shoulders. “What are you going to do?”
Andrew cocked his head to the side, holding back a real smile. “I’m not sure...I've never done this before. But…why not?” He knelt down by the tree. Then, placing both hands on its trunk, he closed his eyes. Back in the hollow he had grown seeds into saplings in a matter of minutes. Why not warm the tree, and bring sap back into its cold branches?
The tree felt cold, and hard against his skin, like the thick skin of a dragon. It seemed to quiver as he touched it, as if it knew who Andrew was. Yet the tree remained hard, and stiff like a dead corpse.
Angry, Andrew pressed harder until his hands shook and his body trembled. Somehow bringing summer back into this tree made Andrew feel as though he had some control over something in his life. He knew he could not bring back all those who had died that now lay frozen in the snow. But he did know that he could somehow bring back the sap into this dormant tree.
He cried out in frustration and sorrow, willing the tree to bend to his will. In a flare of light and heat, energy shot through his hands and into the tree. Andrew cried out and fell back, watching as the tree trembled and shook. The snow fell from its branches. Its dark trunk changed from coarse black, to a warm brown. Green buds appeared on its branches. Then, ever so gradually, small pink flowers emerged and opened.
Andrew watched the tree come to life with wondering eyes. His lips had turned a frosty blue and his hands trembled uncontrollably. But for all this he did not care. All he cared for was what he had created.
It was as if the tree had resurrected and had come to tell him that there was life after death. The snow around its trunk had melted, and it seemed for one moment that the sun shone on that tree, warm and beautiful. Snow fell from its branches, and warmth came into its sap. Gradually, small, pink buds graced its boughs, swelling until they opened and bloomed gloriously, emitting a wonderful smell of honey and spring. Then just as quickly the blossoms faded and fell. As quickly as the blossoms fell, a cloak of green leaves covered its branches, laden with wonderful, red, ripe apples.
“Apples…” Andrew breathed, reaching out to touch one. But his hand trembled so badly because of the cold that he could not pick it.
“Oh, Andrew,” Ivory scolded him, picking the apple. She placed it in his frozen hands. She looked into his eyes and touched his frost-covered face. “Did you really have to do that? It’s already so cold as it is. Why give away what little sunshine you have left?”
Andrew stared into her pleading eyes unable to give her an answer. How could he make her understand when he himself could not? Everything was so confusing. Nothing made sense anymore. He didn’t care if he was cold. He didn’t care if he turned into a brick of ice. He didn’t care if he ceased to exist. The pain was too great. Because of him, Talic was gone. So many he cared for were now buried in the snow. Who could bear such a weight? Because of him all who had a glimmer of light had passed. These were the only people who had kept the world from going completely dark. Not him. Now that they were no more, now that their voices had faded into the night, he could feel his own voice dying. Why live in a world that doesn’t want you? Why?
Ivory frowned, analyzing Andrew’s reflective face for a full minute. “Don’t you realize, that you could summon the Barnacles to you because of these…these…apples? What then? They’re only apples.”
Andrew turned away from her, worried that she had detected his thoughts. Barnacles. Somehow he welcomed the thought. Before, he had thought he knew what pain was---until now.
“Oh, but such apples,” Croffin exclaimed, biting into one, letting its sweet juices dribble down his chin. “Pure perfection. Thank you Andrew. Some of us appreciate your special talents, unlike others…”
Ivory cast Croffin a hurt look, but said nothing. Instead she placed her own cape over Andrew’s shoulders and rubbed his arms, trying to get the feeling back into them.
“I’m fine,” Andrew protested. “Keep your cape. You need it. Not me.”
“You’re such a liar.”
“They do taste pretty good, Andrew,” Freddie agreed, as he and Croffin picked as many apples as they could, and placed them in their packs.
Andrew slowly raised the apple to his mouth and bit into it. The apple was sweet, crisp and tart. Everything an apple should be. He chewed slowly, then swallowed. The piece of apple felt very warm in his mouth, and it warmed his throat all the way down as he swallowed. He took another bite and nibbled on the apple until he’d devoured it, core and all.
Snow fell in swift, biting sheets. The wind blew against them as if it, too, was fighting against them, trying to push them away from going any further.
Then the night came suddenly, ushered in like a thick wall of darkness as if it, too, was trying to keep them from continuing their journey. They huddled together and tried to keep warm. Croffin began to snore in loud snorkeling gusts that rose and fell with the howling of the wind.
The night was colder than any night Andrew had experienced since the Barnacle had bitten him. The wind howled and moaned like a restless wolf sinking its fangs into their flesh. Still, Andrew welcomed the coldness. It helped him to feel something else than the painful memory of what he had witnessed. But even the cold could not shut out what he’d seen. The apple he had eaten made him feel nauseated, and ill.
&
nbsp; Andrew groaned and held his stomach, feeling dizzy. He slowly stood up, and leaned against the apple tree, trying to keep his balance. The tree had frosted over once again. Its leaves littered the ground like a plucked chicken, its branches naked and cold.
“Ohhhh…” Andrew moaned, brushing several fallen leaves out of his hair. His stomach burbled again. He quickly stumbled away from his circle of friends, and leaned over a large rock emptying his stomach of the meager apple he had eaten.
He groaned and swayed back, feeling a little better. The night was still. The snow had the howling wind had stopped. The moon was out, shining brilliantly through billows of puffy clouds. Steam rose up from the cool earth, frosting the snow in glitter. The moon reflected off the snow, making the world seem very bright. Beyond the alcove of rocks they had taken shelter behind, and lining the wide field splitting the Fractured Mountains in half, was a grove of twisted, dead trees. In these trees, Andrew could see something hovering over the snow like a dark sheet fluttering in the breeze.
Without knowing why, fear pricked Andrew’s chest. His throat tightened. The long-ago wound from the Barnacle began to throb and ice over. He gasped, and fell back in the snow. Breathing hard, he peered once more over the rock.
The dark figure moved with ease through the grove of dead trees as smooth as an eddy of water, flitting from tree to tree, wheezing like an old hound.
Andrew stood petrified in place. Could it be? Was this the phantom that so often haunted his dreams? Hadn’t he just secretly wished for something like this to happen? Hadn’t he wanted this? He knew what it was even without fully knowing. Ivory had been right. How had she been right? The Barnacle had come back for him. How had it found him? Had it had come back to finish what it had started?
Andrew turned to wake the others. Then he stopped himself. Wait…
A dark thought crossed his mind. A bad thought that tempted him, urged him to it. How pleasant it looked. How easy. He could put an end to all his pain. He didn’t have to go on anymore. He could step out into the open, and in just a few painful minutes everything would be over.
